Tobacco manufacture



United States Patent d 3,1 53 l 2 Patented Oct. 8, 1963 3,196,212TtlllACCO MANUFACTURE Howard Martin Halter, Norwallr, and Joseph VincentFlore, Fairfield, Conn, assignors to American Machine & Foundry Qompany,a corporation of New .l'ersey Filed May 21, 1962, Ser. No. 196,168 9Claims. (Cl. 131-17) This invention relates to the manufacture oftobacco products and more particularly to tobacco products made fromfinely divided tobacco and adhesive material.

In recent years tobacco manufacture from finely divided tobacco andadhesives has assumed substantial commercial importance. Products havebeen made which include sheets, shreds and other shaped articles. Ingeneral these products have either had a very substantial resistance todisintegration in the presence of moisture or else have had hardly anysuch resistance. Effectively, the water soluble tobacco products havesuffered when exposed to the action of saliva and various treatmentsolutions used in the application of flavors and the like. Some of theWater insoluble products, while generally satisfactory, particularlywhen first manufactured, have tended under some storage conditions tolose much of their water insolubility.

It is an object of this invention to provide water resistant tobaccoproducts made from finely divided tobacco and adhesive material.

It is an object of this invention to provide water resistant tobaccoproducts which retain their resistance to Water even when stored for along period of time.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a method ofmanufacturing tobacco products which include a long-term stable moistureresisting ingredient.

These and other objects of the invention are achieve by combining finelydivided tobacco with water soluble polysaccharide adhesives and one ormore Wet strength agents which when used in minor amounts are effectiveto control the moisture resistance of the finished product Withoutsignificant adverse effect upon the color, aroma or ash of the usefulproduct.

Water soluble polysaccharide derivatives have become established in theart as particularly useful film forming adhesives for the manufacture oftobacco products from finely divided tobacco. in general thesepolysaccharides ture of all of the foregoing smoking products as well asother shaped articles such as pipe cartridges and the like.

It is known in the prior art to combine water soluble polysaccharidesand finely divided tobacco to form useful products. It is also knownthat in many instances these products can be further improved by theaddition of minor amounts of cross-linking material such as glyoxal anddialdehyde starch or other dialdehyde materials including dialdehydepolysaccharides. For many purpose dialdehyde cross-linkedpolysaccharides together with finely divided tobacco form. verysatisfactory smoking products. However it has been found that whennatural tobacco and tobacco products including these wet strength agentsare stored together under conditions which support the fermentation ofsome kinds of tobacco the water resistance of the finished product mayeventually be lost either to a large extent or may disappear completely.

' This effect has been ascribed to the generation of aminclude celluloseothers such as sodium carboxyrnethyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl celluloseand ethylhydroxyethyl cellulose; galactomanan material such as locustbean gum and guar; and polyuronides such as pectins and alginates.According to the present invention polysaccharide gums, used eitherindividually or admixed with one another in any proportion, compriseabout 1% to 30% of the finished tobacco product and preferably between5% and 15% by weight.

The tobacco used in the manufacture of the products of the presentinvention is preferably dry ground and will pass through screens havingmesh openings between about 0.8 millimeters and about 0103 millimetersor less. Wet ground tobacco, such as colloidal tobacco or beaten tobaccofibers, may also be used separately or together with the dry groundtobacco. It is preferable to use at least a major proportion of dryground tobacco which may be prepared in a hammer mill, for example. Whenreinforcing tape, to be used at the mouthpiece of cigars and cigarettes,is made according to this invention, it should contain at least 25% byweight of tobacco and preferably above In most other tobacco productsincluding chewing tobacco, pipe tobacco, cigarette and cigar fillershreads, cigar binder and wrapper, the tobacco should constitute a majorproportion by weight of the finished manufacture.

This invention is useful in the manufacmonia and related products whentobacco is stored under conditions of insufficient ventilation of theindividual surfaces of the smoking products. It is possible to mitigatesome of these undesirable effects by refrigeration and ventilation usedeither separately or together but heretofore no wet strength ingredientfor combination with water soluble polysaccharides has been availablewhich effectively resists this loss of moisture resistance with allkinds of tobacco. It is to be noted that some kinds of natural leaf"tobacco have generally more pronounced adverse storage effects uponmoisture resistance of dialdehyde cross-linked polysaccharides than doother species of tobacco.

According to the present invention it has been found that minor amountsof formaldehyde derivatives of primary and secondary amines and primaryand secondary amides, such as melamine formaldehydes and urea form-'aldehydes and particularly their lower alkyl others such as methyl andethyl ethers, will provide a moisture resistance agent of superiorquality for use with tobacco. In particular the substitution of from oneto six formaldehyde units per melamine unit and the substitution of fromone to four formaldehyde units per urea unit will result in useful wetstrength materials. A preferred wet strength material for use with theabove polysaccharides is the trimethylether of trimethylol melamine.Another material of this type which is also highly useful is dimethylolurea. These moisture resistance agents are included in the tobaccoproduct on the basis of the polysaccharide gum content and in generalrange from about 5% to about 501% by weight of the gum and preferablyabout one-fourth of the gum weight. The formaldehyde derivatives of thisinvention may be used either mixed together, separately, or mixed withconventional dialdehyde crosslinking agents such as glyoxal anddialdehyde starch. The proportions of mixing the materials with oneanotheror With the dialdehyde materials .are determined by the use towhich the tobacco product is put and by the character and species of theparticular adhesive and tobacco used. When a high degree of moistureresistance is desired a relatively larger proportion of formaldehydematerial should be added to the polysaccharide. Generally, more moistureresistance material may be added to mouthpiece reinforcement tape sincegreat moisture resistance with little concern for burn aroma isrequired.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 shows a schematic formula for urea.

FIGURE 2 shows a schematic formula for melamine.

FIGURE 3 shows a schematic formula for trimethylol melamine.

FIGURE 4 shows a schematic formula for the trimethyl etherof'trimethylol melamine, a preferred form of the invention. Each of thecarbons on the ring of FIGURE 4 is bonded to a branch nitrogen which inturn has substituted a hydrogen and ether chain. Each of the hydrogensbonded to these nitrogens may be further substituted by a lower alkylether of a methylol group to form various alternative products usefulwith different tobaccos for enhancing moisture resistance.

FIGURE 5 illustrates a schematic formula of dimethylol urea, anothervaluable moisture resistance agent.

FIGURE 6 is a schematic formula for formaldehyde.

Among the advantages of the use of the formaldehyde derivatives or" thisinvention are firstly the stable moisture and alkaline vapor resistancewhich they impart to tobacco products; secondly the relatively neutralburn odor or aroma of the smoke when these products are used in therecommended proportion, and finally these products when used in cigarwrapper and the like provide a particularly acceptable burn ring or zoneof charring behind the advancing coal on the end of a burning cigar. Itis important to some smokers that the width and color of the burn ringshould resemble a corresponding area of burning natural tobacco.

The tobacco compositions of the present invention also includeadditional conventional additives such as humec tants, for exampleglycerine and glycols; moisture, about 20%; diatomaceous earth, clay andother ash additives; fibers and pulp, such as paper pulp or tobacco stempulp to give mechanical coherence; fungicides and fungistats; coloringagents and dyes; and caseing solutions and flavors such as menthol andaromatic substances which may be used for example in pipe tobacco.

finely divided tobacco with an aqueous mixture of one i or more watersoluble polysaccharides together with any of the above ingredients and amoisture resistance agent. If a thick paste is formed this may besuitably shaped, for example, into a film, or shred and dried completelyand remoistened to an appropriate moisture content such as or by weight.Moisture content of the finished product may range from 10% to 50% byweight. It has been found that the action of heat in drying tends toactivate the moisture resistance agent so that once the product has beendried it acquires moisture resistance. It may afterward be remoistened.In general it is desirable to shape and dry the product promptly afterthe composition is compounded to obtain the maximum moisture resistance.

However, it has also been found that in addition to heat and drying thewater resistance of the finished tobacco manufacture is often achievedrelatively more quickly when a mineral acid catalyst is also added tothe mixture. The use of a small amount of mineral acid makes possible asubstantial reduction in the duration and heat of drying to achieve anequal effect. The acid catalyst is not generally an essential ingredientbut is a useful adjunct to the formaldehyde Wet strength agents of thisinvention. The preferred acid for use with this invention is a 10%aqueous solution of phosphoric acid. Volatile hydrocloric acid solutionsmay be used separately or together with phosphoric acid.

Example I In a preferred example of this invention one kilogram of guargum powder is dispersed in forty-nine kilograms of water to form aviscous solution. To this is added 500 grams of a 10% aqueous phosphoricacid solution. If the phosphoric acid solution is omitted it isnecessary to dry the product at a temperature between 110 C. and 150 C.,rather than 100 C. To this mixture is added two kilograms of a 10% clearaqueous solution of the trimethyl ether of trimethylol melamine. Thisproduct is generally available as an 80% clear aqueous solution and ispreferably diluted to the 10% range for use in formulation. Finally, twokilograms of cigar tobacco dust which has been dry ground to pass ascreen raving openings of about 0.25 millimeter is mixed into thesolution until a uniform viscous paste is formed and this paste is thenshaped into tobacco products in the conventional manner. it may beconveniently formed into a sheet on a fiat stainless steel belt anddried at about C. by impingement of steam on the under surface of thesteel belt when phosphoric acid has been used. When the acid has notbeen used additional heating in an oven is desirable to achieve amaximum moisture resistance.

Example I] In another example of the invention one kilogram ofhydroxyethyl cellulose powder is dispersed in forty-nine kilograms ofWater and is mixed with two kilograms of a 10% aqueous solution ofdimethylol urea. Dimethylol urea is ordinarily supplied as a solidpowder which can be first formed into a 10% by weight aqueous solutionby mild heating. Finally two kilograms of cigarette tobacco dust aresifted or blown over the surface'of a thin film of the above liquidmaterial so that all of the tobacco particles are imbedded in thesurface of the film and the film is dried over steam.

.The tobacco compositions of Examples 1 and Il may be formed inconventional Ways, such as shredding, extruding and the like, intouseful tobacco products and may be incorporated in any proportion withnatural whole leaf tobacco such as in the blend of a cigarette filler.

What is claimed is:

1. A composition of matter comprising at least 25% by weight of finelydivided tobacco adhered together by an adhesive composition, saidadhesive composition comprising a mixture of a major proportion byweight of a polysaccharide and a minor proportion by weight of amoisture resistance agent, said agent being selected from the groupconsisting of melamine formaldehydes, urea formaldehydes and the loweralkyl ethers of said urea and melamine formaldehydes.

2. A shaped smoking article made from the composition of claim 1.

3. Reconstituted tobacco sheet material made from the composition ofclaim 1.

4. A composition according to claim 1 in which the agent is thetrimethyl ether of trimethylol melamine.

5. A composition according to claim 1 in which the agent is dimethylolurea.

6. A composition according to claim 1 which includes reinforcementfibers.

7. A method of tobacco manufacture which comprises: (1) forming anaqueous mixture of a polysaccharide adhesive and a moisture resistanceagent, said agent being selected from the group consisting of melamineformaldehydes, urea formaldehydes and the lower alkyl ethers of saidurea and melamine formaldehydes; (2) con-tacting said aqueous mixturewith a quantity of finely divided tobacco greater than one-half the dryweight of said mixture to form an aqueous tobacco composition; and (3)adjusting the moisture content of and drying said composition to about10% to 50% moisture by weight.

8. A method according to claim 7 in which a mineral acid is added tosaid mixture prior to drying, to reduce the duration and heat of drying.

9. A method according to claim 7 in which phosphoric acid is added tosaid mixture prior to drying, to reduce the duration and heat of drying.

References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS 880,791France Jan. 11, 1943 OTHER REFERENCES Polymeric Materials, by C. C.Winding and G. D. I-liatt, pages 240, 241, 242 and 246, published l96l,by McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, New York.

1. A COMPOSITION OF MATTER COMPRISNG AT LEAST 25% BY WEIGHT OF FINELYDIVIDED TOBACCO ADHERED TOGETHER BY AN ADHESIVE COMPOSITION , SAIDADHESIVE COMPOSITION COMPRISING A MIXTURE OF A MAJOR PROPORTION BYWEIGHT OF A POLYSACCHARIDE AND A MINOR PROPORTION BY WEIGHT OF AMOISTURE RESISTANCE AGENT, SAID AGENT BEING SELECTED FROM THE GROUPCONSISTNG OF MELAMINE FORMALDDHYDES, UREA FORMALDEHYDES AND THE LOWERALKYL ETHERS OF SAID UREA AND MELAMINE FORMALDEHYDES.